1971 School Magazine

"You came to our country: you have driven us from our haunts, and disturbed us in our occupations; as we walk in our own country, we are fired upon by the white men; why should the white men treat us so". "Suqh Was Life"-Compiled by R. Ward and J. Robertson. This must have been the cry from many an aborigine as the white men drove the tribes from their plentiful hunting and food gathering areas into the barren wilderness. At the same time, the pioneers, without realizing it, were commiting sacrilege against trees and animals which were sacred to the natives' ancestors and to them. However, the Europeans thought the natives shy, inoffensive and having no concern for their hunting areas. They were wrong on this last point, for if a tribe were chased away from its native district, it could go nowhere else, for the surrounding country belonged to other tribes, who allowed no trespassers. If, for instance, a native's fire spread into a squatter's pasture, the squatter thought ii fair for the blacks to be driven away to another hunting area, but they would not do this, and gradually sought revenge. As the blacks were forced into different areas, they then experienced inter-tribal conflict and next for lack of food, if they speared a settler's cattle, this brought them into conflict with the white man. They resented any white interference into a sacred place and sought revenge if a convict stole any of their tools or canoes. The aborigines did not understand European laws about private property, instead they thought of livestock as game, agriculture as food and the settlers as invaders of their hunting grounds. If a'new district became settled by the whites, the blacks would leave in no time forgetting their possessions in their hurry. Then the white men went into the camp, taking as many valuables as they could carry, and for revenge, the blacks would find any innocent traveller or shepherd and kill him. Then the black trackers set to work, found the natives, and as many as possible were killed. The remainder of the natives wbnt to a neighbouring run, killed another shepherd and so were sought again. In other cases squattets had treated the aborigines with much kindness, and then suddenly the aborigines would kill one of the shepherds without any apparent reason. At times, as the natives were all alike in colour and features, the police did kill members of the wrong tribe in mistake. Squatters with families tried to avoid settling in distriits where there was danger from the blacks, and a man was usually kept guarding the cattle all night to warn of an attack. The white squatter thought it reasonable that the blacks should be taught a lesson for stealing. Also, due to fear of the unknown, willingness io think the worst of the aborigines and a deterrtination to protect themselves and their property, the settlers did not hesitate to fire at them. When cattte were stolen, huts were broken into, or crops or homesteads were lit, the blacks were fired

upon, driven off or poison was put in flour and given to them. F{owever, many did feel sorry for the naked, homeless, miserable looking creatures and thought them good natured. Often, the blacks worked as drovers or did odd jobs for the settlers and they were treated with kindness and affection for as long as they accepted the gift of higher civillzation. Yet others thought the blacks as being the most formidable enemies the squatters had to face. They thought that the blacks could never be won over from hostility, and be persuaded to live peacefully with the whites. Ma4y attacks on the settlers were acts of revenge for insults or damage. The aborigines mustered together in packs of about a hundred men, their numbers compensating for their primitive weapons. They painted themselves all over with a variety of hideous red and white figures, for these two colours were the emblems of war. Next, they would very quietly surround a settler's home, then as their kangaroo dogs barked savagely, the natives themselves began hooting and yelling loudly, creating a frightful din. They leapt wildly, waved their spears, waddies and boomerangs about in the air and worked themselves into a great state. The whites were clubbed or speared to death, but the sight of a man with so much as a fowling piece caused most to flee. The whites seemed unaware as to how disastrous their civilization was to the aborigines, and as the blacks and their game were hunted by the Europeans both of their numbers dwindled. lt seemed that wherever the whites settled, the aborigines were defeated and dispersed. Serious conflicts between the whites and the blacks began just two months after the first settlement began in 1788 with the aborigines murdering two rush-cutters. From then on many attacks from both sides which took place, were due to ignorance and misunderstanding. Clashes between them were frequent, and I shall now describe four of these. In 1803, in Van Diemen's Land, shortly after the European settlement had begun, some colonists shot down a large group of natives approaching in a friendly manner. This early occurrence destroyed all confidence the blacks had in the whites. On the island, the aborigines were even more primitive than those on the mainland and they suffered for it. By 1830, relations between the two races were so bad that Governor Arthur planned a large scale operation to confine all the natives to Tasman Peninsula in the south-east. The Governor appealed to all the settlers to enlist in the "Black Line", and finally after seven weeks with the aid of two thousand men and the expenditure of f, 25,000, one woman and one boy were captured. It was believed that some treacherous whites helped many natives cross the line, so the operation was abandoned. It was said afterwards that hundreds of blacks were enclosed when the troops were withdrawn, so the Black War was a failure.

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